COMPANY NEWS; HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES FACES REGULATORY SUPERVISION

Published: November 4, 2004

Huntington Bancshares said yesterday that it expected to be placed under supervision by federal bank regulators amid a Securities and Exchange Commission accounting inquiry involving auto leases. Huntington, a regional banking company based in Columbus, Ohio, said it was negotiating an agreement with the S.E.C. and expected to pay a civil penalty. The bank restated 2002 profit to account for $3.2 billion in auto leases as loans rather than as automobiles it owned and rented out. Supervisory agreements with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will address corporate governance, financial reporting, and accounting policies and controls, the company said. Huntington said that its acquisition of the Unizan Financial Corporation would be delayed as a result of the federal oversight.